The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-26
A YEAR OF PROHIBITION.
The Experiences of Atlanta as q Dry
City.

The Experiences of Atlanta as Dry
City.
atlanta (Ga.) Correspondent NetoS and Courier.
The Georgia local option law whereunder
Fulton county (which includes Atlanta,)
held the election which resulted in prohibi-
ton, provides that after prohibition has
been carried in any county no after election
on the subject shall be held within two
years. A year and a half has now passed
since the election was held here, and in six
months, of course, another election may be
held. Moreover, the law has now been in
operation year, one-half the necessary
period. A sort of milepost i'll the prohibit
ton experiment has, therefore, now just
been reached, and the subject, which has
for two or three years at all
times been prominent, is for this
reason now little more prominent
than usual. Both sides are reviewing the
year under prohibition. There is the greater
significance to this because the success or
the failure of the experiment i'll Atlanta
will very largely determine the success or
the failure of the whole State experiment,
so far as it has gone. There is the same
conflicting testimony here as to the value of
the law that there is in every other city
that has tried prohibition; but there is not
the least doubt but the prohibition side has
gained popular strength, and gained greatly
since it won the day by narrow margin Il
year and a half ago. One reason thatit has
gained strength is because to a certain
degree the Prohibitionists are so strong and
they hold in their hands cards so well
politically packed, that the politicians are
afraid TO oppose the cause openly. The
work has been carried beyond that point
which the Prohibitionists i'll most places
have reached and stopped-the point where
membership in the party was in the more
worldly circles of society evidence of former
nebrlety, of quackery or of cranklsm.
Prohibition here is respectable. The solid
business men Of this city-many of whom,
by the way, take their grog-are generally
strongly in favor of the continuance of the
law for a variety of reasons. Some main
tain that the business of the city has been
made better. This, of course, is vigorously
denied by others. Some who say that while
men will and ought to drink liquor, any who
are not at bottom in favor of acast-iron pro
hibitory law for the whole country have be-
come convinced that the closing of the low
groggeries is SO excellent thing that they
are willing to sacrifice what they once re
garded as their objection to 'sIumptuary
legislation" for the practical good. There
is a very great probability that an election,
like the forthcoming Texas election, Or on
law like Che Maine law, would be very Wig
orously opposed in Atlanta. The local
option method of trying prohibition by
counties, and for limited period of time,
has won as its friends men whom a sweep
ing and perpetual law could never win.
For this reason the Georgia PLAN is unique.
For instance, a National Prohibition ticket
in 1888 will not get anything like as many
votes i'll Georgia as the local option cause
has got here. The State will still be Demo-
cratic. 1t is not that kind of prohibition,
h.
cages attention is as to the future of local
prohibition in this county and in Georgia.
Unless all signs fail. the chances are decid-
edly in favor of the continuance of the law,
at least for some time to come, over great
part of the State. 1t has been accurately
described as a rich mans law directed
against the poor man. At least this is true
from one point of view. A ''rich" man in
a prohibition county can get grog
quart without any trouble, but the poor
man who can afford to buy it only by the
drink is the man who is generally cleft. "
The effort has been made to arouse sympa-
thy for the poor grOS drinker, but it has
not been as successful as it was expected
to be. There are coming county battles to
be fought, but the chances in most of them
are decidedly in favor of the Prohibitionists.
The Constitution, which has been, if not
hostile, certainly not friendly in partisan
way to prohibition, has caused something
of sensation throughout the State by
long review of the year under the law,
which concludes with the confession that
'Our experience has demonstrated to us
beyond a doubt that a city of 10000
inhabitants cap get along and advance
at a solid and constant rate without the
liquor traffic" The status of prohibition
now is as follows: lis out of 1877 counties
are under Drohihition Among those that
are not is Chatham county. in which Savan-
nah is situated There are eighteen coun-
ties, mostly in the southeast portion of the
State, where prohibition is secured by the
local authorities placing the license fee so
high that no one can afford to pay it. For
instance, Tatnall county charges s., 800,
Berrien $1,000, Charlton 5000, Putnam
5000 and Ware $4,000 This is high
license carried to Il prohibitory point and is
not, properly speaking, the Georgia plan"
The secret of the Prohibitionists' success in
the other counties has been the chance the
plan gives at every step for the people who
are Immediately concerned TO do as they
wish. 1t is the principle of home rule and
local government applied to the liquor
traffic 1t will require eight or ten years
to prove conclusively the permanepce
of the success of the plan, or its
failure. In that time there will be fluctua-
tiOns i'll counties. Some 'dry" ones will
become "wet" again, and vice versa, and
within that time it can be seen how much of
the present success is due to mere fitful agi-
tation AS the matter stands to-day, the
Georgia plan" comes nearer to success i'll
prohibiting the liquor traffic than any shape
that prohibition has taken Such, at least, |
is the judgment of the mass of the men
here who voted against the law as well as of
those who voted for it,